Plans by the Indonesian National Police (Polri) to establish an anti-anarchy detachment to deal with religious-based violence issues has sparked criticisms among activists, saying that the unit is not the right solution.

National police chief General Timur Pradopo said Polri will set up the unit at all provincial police offices. Its framework and duties are still being discussed by Polriâ€™s training institutions.

â€śThe unitâ€™s establishment will not change the problem,â€ť Adrianus Meilala, a criminologist from the state-run University of Indonesia (UI) in Jakarta, said.

According to the Catholic layman, the problem faced by police is not unity but willingness to work and act decisively. â€śWe must find the right medicine if we want to heal the wound. Treating the wound with the wrong medicine will be fatal,â€ť he said.

Nurcholis, deputy head of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), agreed. â€śWe refuse the unitâ€™s establishment, because it will create the human rights violation,â€ť he said.

Noting that police already have a similar unit, he suggested they should revive this existing unit and improve their ability to enforce the law. â€śThey do not have to establish the unit.â€ť

â€śAttacks against Ahmadiyah sect members in Cikeusik, Banten, and churches in Temanggung, Central Java, should not be the basis of the unitâ€™s establishment. Such incidents happened before and police could prevent it. The new unit should not necessarily be set up,â€ť he said.

Three Ahmadiyah sect members were killed during an attack by moe than 1,000 orthodox Muslims on worshippers at a house in Banten on February 6. Two days later, in Temanggung, mobs ransacked three churches after a court jailed a Christian for five years for insulting Islam. The mobs had demanded the death penalty.

Hendardi of the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace said he appreciated policeâ€™s efforts to prevent religious-based violence but lamented their repressive approach. â€śIf the unit is the option, police must have firm standards and refer to the principles of human rights in dealing with such violence,â€ť he said.